Although the banquet had not started yet, Sienna felt better because Carl’s reaction was not bad so far.
“That’s a relief. I was actually nervous about preparing for a new banquet.”
“That’s why you’ve been busy? Pavenik said you spent a lot of time in the theater. Pavenik was saying there are many young, handsome guys…I mean, actors came and went.”
Sienna burst out laughing. He was pretending to be fine, but Sienna thought this was actually what Carl wanted to talk about the most.
Carl tried to straighten out his calm expression, but his eyes were burning with jealousy. While Sienna was spending most of her time in the theater under the pretext of being busy, he must have asked himself hundreds of times. What was she doing there?
She could fully understand Hain’s words. She wondered if Carl knew how cute his face was when he was blinded by jealousy.
“So you were jealous?”
Sienna asked Carl directly.
“What jealousy? I was just wondering what you were busy about there.”
At Carl’s words, Sienna said with a playful face.
“Are you really just curious? There were so many good-looking actors.”
“…”
“That’s disappointing. I was hoping Carl would be jealous, but he wasn’t jealous at all.”
“Waiting for me to be jealous? I thought you’d think I’m pathetic if I said I was jealous. Like I have trust issues and can’t trust my wife.”
“Of course, it would have been pathetic if you had questioned me for reasons that made no sense. But it wasn’t. I won’t lie. I definitely wanted you to be jealous. You know that kind of feel. You like someone so much that you get nervous and stuff.”
Sienna glanced at Carl’s face. He had a slightly dazed look on his face, making it difficult to know exactly what he was thinking. She continued to talk.
“I guess that’s why I wanted Carl to be jealous. I assume you’ll feel more anxious as much as you like me. Seeing the Chancellor come to the theater every day, I felt envious of Hain a little. But I can’t believe you didn’t come because you trusted me. That’s not bad either.”
Carl suddenly stopped walking.
“Why?”
Sienna looked back at Carl and asked him why he stopped suddenly. Carl pulled Sienna’s waist and hugged her tightly. The Royal Knights and Phoenix Knights, who escorted Carl and Sienna front and back, did not leave their positions and stopped at the pace of their masters.
“Why?”
Suddenly, Sienna, pulled close to Carl, asked again with a surprised face.
“This makes me angry. I’ve been holding it in all this time. I thought I would look pathetic even though the inside of my gut was boiling. I’ve been pretending to be okay, not to be bothered by the fear that you’re going to run away because you feel too suffocated, scared, and clingy, but you really wanted me to be jealous. I’ve been so stupid for all this time.”
Said Carl, with his face held close to her face.
“Carl…”
Sienna stared into Carl’s eyes, trying to convey how lovely he was to her right now. He looked away as if he was embarrassed by her gaze.
“I didn’t know why you’re so busy, but you’ve avoided dining with me so many times. Whenever I asked what you were doing, I was so nervous and scared whenever you made the ridiculous excuse of preparing for a banquet or taking care of palace administrative stuff. When Pavenik said that you were spending time with actors in the theater, I responded casually that you seemed to be interested in the play, but inside I wasn’t okay. I wanted to run there and see you right away. I was afraid I was going crazy because of the jealousy…”
Carl’s voice trembled a little. It reminded Sienna of him more than a decade ago.
He was already a father of two children and the emperor of this country, but why did he keep such a boyish sense? It made him look very tender that he was honestly expressing his feelings.
Sienna put her hands on Carl’s cheek and bumped her lips against his lips. Warmth was felt at the tip of her lips. The two had been kissing for a long time.
Sienna slowly took off her lips when she was out of breath. Then she said, staring at Carl with a happy face.
“I can’t hold myself back if you say such lovely words.”
At Sienna’s words, Carl eventually burst into laughter. She could see that he felt better. His facial muscles were loosened gently.
*
As they entered the garden, they could see the stage showing off its great presence.
It wasn’t that she didn’t think of hiding the stage, but it didn’t matter. Carl must have guessed that actors were in and out of the palace and that she was planning to perform a play at today’s banquet. However, he would not have dreamed that he would be the main character.
“What do you think? Pretty good, right?”
Sienna looked around the banquet hall she had prepared and asked Carl.
The atmosphere was clearly different from the usual. The sweet smell of flowers came in through the breeze, and the band’s performance echoed softly.
The nobles who arrived earlier had small drinks and talked in groups. Perhaps because this banquet was held during the day, it was more free and relaxed than usual.
Some were leaning deeply on the sofa under the shade and closing their eyes. Sitting under the warm sun, drowsiness seemed to be flowing naturally.
Carl looked around and nodded.
“It certainly feels different from a banquet at night. I think it’s good to have a freer atmosphere.”
“This is not the end. I’ve prepared a lot more.”
Sienna smiled meaningfully.
“I’m looking forward to that.”
The aristocratic wives came one by one to Sienna, who prepared the banquet. It was natural for them to come to her, who had the most power after the emperor in the imperial palace. When they surrounded Sienna, Carl naturally left her alone.
“The garden is really well-groomed.”
“I love the scent of flowers. When it comes to gardens, I only thought about sharing refreshments, but I think it would be nice to have a banquet like this.”
They rushed to praise Sienna’s banquet for how wonderful it was. Sienna looked around while listening to their stories, to find out where Hain was. But she could not be seen.
“Mrs. Pavenik helped me with this. The banquet in the garden was purely her idea.”
When Sienna directly complimented Hain, some followed.
“I think Mrs. Pavenik has a great sense of style. I was invited to her mansion last time, and the decorating inside the mansion was more than average.”
“I think she has a good eye for painting too. Every single painting in the hallway caught my eye, and I had to stop walking every step of the way.”
Knowing that Sienna loves Hain, the wives eagerly praised her. Of course not every one of them.
“I know she was close to you because she was your head maid, but please spend time with us often too.”
“Yes, the Emperor only cares about the Chancellor, the Empress only takes care of Mrs. Pavenik, and she has her children as friends of the imperial heirs…. it feels like the Pavenik family is a royal family.”
Some did not hide their jealousy. This was a very sensitive issue. There was no one who was pleased that the attention of the imperial family was focused on one family. Sienna said, nodding her head to appease them.
“I must have been too negligent. I’ll call you all often, so don’t be too disappointed. Come to think of it, I’m going to call in the musicians two weeks later and show them a concert, so if you have time, you should attend. With the children.”
They were delighted at Sienna’s words. The Empress’s invitation was an honor, and in addition, she offered to bring the children, which was an opportunity for their children to get to know the imperial heirs.
The aristocratic wives with children who were still too young or already had a coming-of-age ceremony looked sad, but Sienna could not please everyone.
As Sienna looked around, chatting with them, Baron Chaser’s wife came into her eyes. She was the owner of the Roman estate, and Sienna had visited her site eight years ago for the ceremony marking the establishment of an orphanage, so she was a familiar face.
Sienna remembered that this lady was not only very beautiful, but also a graceful and generous character. She was considerate enough to let the children of orphanages and her own children play together.
But she was looking around the place with a look of uneasiness as if she was looking for something. At first Sienna assumed she was just looking for someone she knew, but then she also looked under a table.
Sienna got out of the way of the aristocratic wives and approached her. Mrs. Chaser had just lifted the tablecloth from the next table with a worried look on her face.
“Mrs. Chaser, what have you lost?”
When she confirmed that it was the empress who spoke to her, she quickly set her manners. Sienna, who received her greetings, asked her again.
“It seemed like you were looking for something.”
“That’s actually…”
She hesitated and struggled to open her mouth.
“I’m looking for my child, Evan.”
Sienna thought about who Evan was. The name of her first son she had met before was Dane, not Evan. When she met Mrs. Chaser eight years ago, there was an unborn child in her belly, so Sienna wondered if it was his name.